Second-half goals lift Seattle Sounders over FC Dallas in first leg of Western Conference semifinals

SEATTLE – In the Major League Soccer semifinals, you don’t want to lose a game, and especially not on an away goal.

The Sounders were staring at those double daggers in the second half Sunday, down an early goal. Then Andreas Ivanschitz and Clint Dempsey rode to the rescue with second-half scores that gave Seattle a 2-1 win over FC Dallas at CenturyLink Field in the opening leg of a home-and-road, aggregate-score series.

“I’m really proud of our team – the effort that guys put in, three games in a week,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “We scored eight goals in those three games. I thought guys put in a masterful effort, and I thought at the end of the game we almost looked fresher than they did, and they hadn’t played in a week.”

The Western Conference semifinal will resolve next Sunday in Frisco, Texas. The Sounders will advance with a win or a draw or any one-goal loss in which they score at least two goals.

“We’ve always been a good road team because we go to win on the road,” Schmid said. “We’re going to go to win there. When you go to win, then sometimes you come out with a tie. If go for a tie, sometimes you go out with a loss. So we’re going to go to win. And if a tie is the end result, we’ll be happy with that.”

The game began cautiously from both sides. But that ended with a series of lightning strikes around the 18th minute. The flurry started with a Dallas charge into the attacking end. The Sounders countered that, with Obafemi Martins sending a pass to Dempsey in the penalty area, where he went down without drawing a whistle.

Instead, Dallas countered yet again, this time down the left side with Mauro Dias finding Fabian Castillo behind the Sounders’ defense. With the Hoops’ goals leader running at him, Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei came off his line, but Castillo fired past him.

In a series where road goals serve as the tie-breaker, the early goal was a double dagger to Seattle. The Sounders began pushing forward more aggressively, and had several chances before the half was out: Ivanschitz with a sizzler from distance, but right at Dallas keeper Jesse Gonzalez. Erik Friberg just wide of goal. Dempsey beating everyone to the rebound of a Marco Pappa free kick, but Gonzalez once again stopping the threat. In the first minute of the second half, Pappa sent a roller to the near post that Martins couldn’t quite reach.

The breakthrough finally came with Ivanschitz’s solo run and solid finish in the 67th minute.

In the 86th minute, Dempsey nailed the game-winner on a sizzling free kick from 23 yards.

“I was very happy with our team, our effort,” Schmid said. “Obviously a wonderful free kick goal and a great run by Ivanschitz.”

The Sounders opened the series with would-be starters Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans and Leo Gonzalez unavailable due to injury and designated player Nelson Valdez came off the bench in the 62nd minute.